Bubble Gum Surf Wax

Bubble Gum Surf Wax smells like, yes, it smells like Bubble Gum. From the times of no worries and Bazooka bubble gum in your pocket, Bubble Gum Surf Wax has seen the rise and the fall of its brightly colored package. And now it is back.

Bubble Gum Surf Wax – The begining

Back in the summer of 1984 in a sun-bathed kitchen in Leucadia, California, Britt Galland, just two years out of San Dieguito High School, along with his brother Grant, invented Bubble Gum Surf Wax.

“Even today, no matter who smells Bubble Gum Surf Wax, is brought back to an earlier place in time when they were at the beach, had no worries and had a pocket full of Bazooka bubble gum,” explains Britt Galland, the former mad scientist of surf wax. “Bubble Gum’s whole idea — its color, smell, look and feel — was a huge, immediate success.”

The rise and the fall

10 years on, their brand of wax keeping the feet of surfers the world over glued to their boards, the Galland brothers, happy with what they had achieved, moved on in life. “About 10 years ago, we both started having families and kept moving forward in the surf industry,” he says. “While Bubble Gum was making us money, it wasn’t exactly making us rich. It was a safe business, but we kind of took it for granted and moved on to . . . I guess . . . .bigger and better things.”

As the surf world continued to spin on its axis, Britt Galland worked his way into the Vice marketing seat at No Fear, while Grant Galland became a sales executive at Hurley. And while Bubble Gum kept on chugging along, the brand had, to a large extent, lost its way. But now it’s back and breathing fire!

And now Bubble Gum Surf Wax is back

“About a year ago, Grant, without really saying anything, threw a little product out there into the surf industry, stood back and watched what happened,” says Galland. “People flipped out over it. Rob Machado was one of the first guys Grant spoke to when he let a few people know what he was up to and Rob was really stoked to be in on it. He was behind it 100%

And it wasn’t just Machado who glommed on to the quiet renaissance of Bubble Gum. “From the little bit of feedback he received, it was like the little dude [Bubble Gum] never went away,” says Galland of his long, lost friend. “It was more like he got ignored and fell off the radar screen a little bit — you just didn’t see him in the industry or in the shops.”

After withstanding a 20 year test of time, the Galland brothers are keen to bring Bubble Gum Surf Wax back to the fore in surfing. “This is our passion play,” says Britt. “Bubble Gum was our entry-level project into the industry. When we started talking about bringing it back we knew the time was right. I guess it’s like we put him in a drawer for 10 years, saved him, and as of a few months ago, decided to pull him back out.

“We’ve built a pretty simple business model for Bubble Gum,” continues Galland. “We set it up to run pretty much on autopilot as we’re still 100% devoted to our current responsibilities. As a matter of fact, our master plan is to turn the Bubble Gum business over to our kids in the immediate future.”

Galland says Bubble Gum Surf Wax will be supported by heavy-duty marketing, including events, print, web and athlete sponsorship, all the caliber of Bubble Gum website cover boy Rob Machado, adding: “We’re really going to drive this thing,” says Galland. “We’re going to lean on our relationships throughout the industry and find people to back it that feel the same way about the brand that we do. We really want to see Bubble Gum brought back to life again.”

So keep your eyes out for the brightly colored Bubble Gum Surf wax packages. And when you do come across it, peel it open, roll it in your hands, lift it to your nose and enjoy the aromatherapy. Good times are here again.